3 wi~ 


, /A  vv\  ^ r; 


jflap  Calfe  on 
i^liggions  in 
^orto  KMco 
a n ti  Cuba 

By  MRS.  CHARLES  L.  THOMPSON 

— ^ j - 

r: 


Literature  Department  of  the  Woman^s  Board 
of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
f56  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/maptalkonmissionOOthom 


PORTO  RICO 

It  was  in  November,  1493,  on  his  second  voyage,  that 
Columbus  discovered  Porto  Rico.  The  first  mention 
of  it  is  in  a letter  addressed  to  the  Chapter  of  Se- 
ville by  Dr.  Chanca,  a physician  to  the  fieet  of  Colum- 
bus. “We  discovered  another  island  called  Buren- 
quen,  which  we  judged  to  be  thirty  leagues  in  length, 
for  we  were  coasting  along  it  the  whole  of  one  day. 
This  island  is  very  beautiful  and  apparently  fertile. 
Hither  the  Caribbees  come  with  the  view  of  subduing 
the  inhabitants,  and  often  carry  away  many  of  the 
people.  These  islanders  have  no  boats,  nor  any  knowl- 
edge of  navigation.’' 

Porto  Rico  was  thickly  populated  at  the  time  of  its 
discovery  with  a quiet,  docile  race.  In  common  with 
the  other  Indians  of  the  West  Indies  they  compressed 
the  head  artificially  in  infancy,  rendering  the  skull 
very  hard,  and  it  is  said  to  have  required  practice  and 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  soldiers  to  crack  open 
the  head  of  an  aborigine  without  injuring  his  good 
sword.  None  of  the  Indians  wore  clothing,  but  they 
painted  themselves  elaborately,  and  as  late  as  1853, 
Humboldt  says,  “To  go  out  of  the  hut  without  being 
painted  would  be  to  transgress  all  rules  of  Carib 
decency.” 

The  friendship  with  which  the  Indians  of  the  more 
northern  islands  greeted  the  Christian  voyagers  was 
sadly  abused.  The  white  races  have  never  felt 
that  any  man  could  read  his  title  clear  to  land,  if 
he  were  unable  to  prove  his  claim  by  superior  physi- 
cal force.  In  this  case,  as  with  the  Indians  of  North 
America,  and  the  negroes  of  Africa,  the  title  could 
not  be  proved,  and  the  Spaniards  entered  into  posses- 
sion. Columbus,  while  depriving  the  natives  of  their 


terrestrial  titles,  took  pains  to  explain  that  they  mere- 
ly exchanged  them  for  titles  celestial.  He  writes : 

“In  all  the  countries  visited  by  your  Highnesses’ 
ships  I have  caused  a high  cross  to  be  fixed  upon  every 
headland,  and, have  proclaimed  to  every  nation  that 
I have  discovered,  the  lofty  estate  of  your  Highnesses 
and  of  your  Court  in  Spain.  I also  tell  them  all  I can 
respecting  our  holy  faith,  and  of  the  belief  in  the 
holy  Mother  Church,  which  has  its  members  in  all  the 
world,  and  I speak  to  them  also  of  the  courtesy  and 
nobleness  of  all  Christians,  and  of  the  faith  they  have 
in  the  Holy  Trinity.” 

The  first  white  settlement  on  Porto  Rico  was  made 
by  Ponce  de  Leon,  who  came  to  the  island  in  1508 
and  founded  his  capital  the  following  year  on  the 
north  shore,  calling  the  place  Caparra.  In  the  same 
year,  however,  he  began  to  build  San  Juan,  to  which 
town  he  shortly  moved. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  Hayti  created  a demand  for 
labor  and  the  natives  were  caught  and  shipped  to 
the  mines,  there  to  be  beaten  and  worked  and  starved 
until  they  died.  There  were  always  more  to  take  the 
places  of  the  dead,  and  it  did  not  pay  to  consider 
complaints.  After  the  passing  of  the  native  came  the 
introduction  of  African  slavery  though  never  in  large 
proportions  till  the  nineteenth  century. 

Although  there  was  no  mineral  wealth  in  Porto 
Rico,  its  tropical  beauties  attracted  the  cupidity  of 
other  nations,  and  in  1538  France  invaded  the  island. 
The  English  tried  it  six  times  in  all.  The  Dutch  took 
a hand  in  1625,  and  our  own  Admiral  Porter,  in  his 
successful  raids  on  the  West  Indian  pirates,  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  in  1824.  Seventy-four  years 
later.  Admiral  Sampson  fired  a few  shots  which 
injured  a church  and  El  Morro,  and  departed,  leaving 


4 


the  island  in  peace  till  the  arrival  of  General  Miles. 

In  1815  was  issued  a royal  decree  entitled  “Regula- 
tions for  promoting  the  Population,  Commerce,  In- 
dustry and  Agriculture,  of  the  Island  of  Porto  Rico.” 
This  decree  held  out  the  most  flattering  prospects 
to  worthy  foreigners,  conferring  on  them  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  Spaniards.  Free  land  was  granted, 
and  freedom  from  taxes.  For  flfteen  years  they  were 
relieved  from  tithes  and  exportation  duties.  That  this 
was  a wise  and  enlightened  policy  has  been  proved  by 
the  fact  that  the  period  of  Porto  Rico’s  prosperity 
dates  from  that  time,  its  population  and  wealth  hav- 
ing increased  in  greater  measure  than  in  any  other 
of  the  West  Indian  islands. 

In  1873,  slavery  was  abolished,  and  thirty-four  thou- 
sand negroes  were  given  their  freedom.  After  five 
years  they  were  granted  the  franchised  The  indemni- 
fication of  the  masters  was  appropriated  from  the 
Porto  Rican  budget.  In  1870  Porto  Rico  was  made  a 
province  of  Spain,  with  representation  in  the  Cortes, 
elected  by  universal  suffrage.  In  1897  autonomy  was 
granted.  By  it  the  island  had  a Premier  and  a House 
of  Representatives.  This  form  of  government  was  not 
fully  tried,  for  in  1898  the  flag  of  the  United  States 
was  raised  over  Porto  Rico  and  she  was  declared  to 
he  part  of  the  territory  of  our  Union. 

RESOURCES. 

PoETO  Rico  is  not  a large  country,  being  in  fact  but 
one-half  the  size  of  New  Jersey,  or  about  one  hundred 
miles  long  and  forty  miles  wide,  mountainous  in  the 
center,  with  a flat  rim  around  its  sea  coast.  These 
fertile  plains  around  the  island’s  edge  are  planted 
with  sugar  and  produce  eighty  thousand  tons  of 
sugar  annually. 


5 


Coffee  is  raised  on  the  mountains  and  highlands, 
and  is  of  a good  quality.  When  we  consider  that  the 
coffee  bill  of  the  United  States  amounts  to  over 
eighty-seven  millions  of  dollars  a year,  it  seems  some- 
what unfortunate  that  we  should  pass  by  Porto  Rico 
in  our  search  for  the  so-called  Mocha  which  comes 
from  the  highlands  of  Brazil. 

The  fruit  culture  of  the  island  has  not  been  well 
developed.  Oranges  are  abundant  in  a semi-wild  state. 
Bananas  are  the  most  prolific  crop,  with  half  a dozen 
varieties,  from  datalies  to  plantains.  Porto  Rico  is 
said  to  ship  annually  two  hundred  millions  of 
bananas. 

Tobacco  is  one  of  the  smaller  crops.  Cattle-raising 
is  profitable,  owing  to  the  abundance  of  pasturage. 
Besides  these  industries,  which  represent  the  main 
wealth  of  the  island,  there  are  a few  smaller  ones, 
among  which  are  the  various  forms  of  weaving  in 
straw  and  inlaid  work  in  woods.  Woman’s  work  is 
clearly  defined;  it  is  needle-work.  A few  there  are 
who  teach,  but  very  few,  and  the  beautiful  embroider- 
ies and  fine  drawn- work  which  are  shown  to  the  ad- 
miring guest  speak  of  many  hours  passed  with  needle 
and  scissors. 

The  population  of  the  island  is  about  eight  hundred 
thousand,  and  forty  per  cent,  of  these  are  of  colored 
blood.  The  Spanish  and  their  descendants  are,  of 
course,  in  the  majority  among  the  whites.  Many  of 
them  are  wealthy  and  maintain  the  pride  of  their 
estate  with  all  the  dignity  of  Spanish  grandees. 

THE  TRIP  TO  PORTO  RICO. 

When  we  leave  the  harbor  of  New  York  we  sail 
for  fourteen  hundred  miles  to  the  southeast,  and  so 


6 


come  to  San  Juan,  the  capital.  No  frost  ever 
touches  this  beautiful  tropical  island ; summer 
and  winter  the  temperature  is  very  much  the  same; 
the  humidity  is  great,  however.  On  the  northern  coast 
the  annual  rainfall  is  about  120  inches,  and  at  night, 
especially  in  the  mountains,  everything  is  drenched 
with  heavy  dews.  On  the  southern  coast  conditions 
are  different,  and  the  dry  season  there  frequently 
lasts  for  two  or  three  months. 

The  harbors  of  Porto  Rico  are  inferior  to  those  of 
Cuba : on  the  other  hand,  the  highways  are  somewhat 
better.  The  most  famous  of  these  is  the  military 
road  which  crosses  the  island  from  San  Juan  to  Ponce, 
a distance  of  eighty-five  miles.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
highways  in  the  western  hemisphere,  climbing  the 
mountains  with  easy  grades  and  beautiful  curves  to 
a height  of  twenty-five  hundred  feet,  then  dropping  to 
the  level  plains  of  the  southern  coast.  The  scenery 
on  this  long  drive  is  of  great  beauty.  As  it  climbs 
higher  into  the  mountains  the  cocoa  palm  is  replaced 
by  the  royal  palm,  with  its  gray  shaft,  like  a granite 
column,  and  its  plume-like  crown  of  verdure. 
Coffee  plantations  creep  to  the  very  crown  of  the 
mountains.  Men  and  women  are  dotted  over  the  val- 
leys working  in  the  tobacco  fields.  The  fiamboyan 
tree  with  its  foliage  like  a sensitive  plant,  and  its 
brilliant  Vermillion  fiowers,  shades  the  road.  Groves 
of  banana  trees  with  their  gigantic,  glossy  leaves,  and 
the  single  red  blossom  pendant  at  the  end  of  the 
bunch  of  fruit  accentuate  the  tropical  note.  Oranges^ 
fall  on  the  roadside.  The  bread-tree  with  its  many- 
fingered leaves  stands  ready  with  its  fruit.  The 
thatched  huts  of  the  peon  fit  easily  into  the  land- 
scape. As  we  look  we  see  a man  ploughing  with  a 
pointed  stick  in  good  Biblical  style.  His  primitive 


7 


machine  answers  the  purpose  very  well  in  the  rich, 
moist  soil  around  us. 

The  beauty  of  a tropical  scene  has  been  well  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  E.  Rufz,  a native  of  Martinique : 
“The  sea,  the  sea  alone,  because  it  is  the  most  colossal 
of  earthly  spectacles — only  the  sea  can  afford  us  a 
term  of  comparison  for  the  attempt  to  describe  a great 
forest,  but  even  then  one  must  imagine  the  sea  on  a 
day  of  storm,  suddenly  immobilized  in  the  expression 
of  its  mightiest  fury.  For  the  summits  of  these  vast 
woods  repeat  all  the  inequalities  of  the  land  they 
cover ; and  these  inequalities  are  mountains  from 
forty-two  hundred  to  forty-eight  hundred  feet  in 
height,  and  valleys  of  corresponding  profundity.  All 
this  is  hidden,  blended  together,  smoothed  over  by 
verdure,  in  soft  and  enormous  undulations — immense 
billowings  of  foliage.  Only,  instead  of  a blue  line  at 
the  horizon,  you  have  a green  line ; instead  of  flashings 
of  blue,  you  have  flashings  of  green — and  in  all  the 
tints,  in  all  the  combinations  of  which  green  is  cap- 
able : deep  green,  light  green,  yellow  green,  black 
green.” 


MISSION  STATIONS. 

San  Juan,  our  landing  place,  gives  also  our  flrst 
view  of  mission  work.  The  Board  of  Home  Missions 
has  here  three  organized  churches.  In  San  Juan 
proper  there  is  an  English  church  where  work  is  car- 
ried on  amongst  the  Americans,  civilians  and  soldiers. 
This  work  is  in  a rented  room.  There  is  also  a Span- 
ish church  which  is  ministered  to  by  the  pastor  of 
the  church  at  Santurce.  This  work  is  also  in  a 
rented  building.  At  Santurce,  a suburb  of  San  Juan, 
the  Board  has  a beautiful  church,  built  in  a somewhat 


8 


Spanish  style  of  architecture.  This  was  the  first 
Presbyterian  church  in  Porto  Rico,  and  was  built  in 
1900  by  our  first  missionary  in  San  Juan.  It 
has  been-  well  filled  from  its  beginning,  and  is  growing 
constantly. 

In  addition  to  these  churches  in  the  city,  our  mis- 
sionary and  his  three  native  helpers  go  from  week  to 
week  to  various  out-stations,  ten  to  fifteen  miles  from 
San  Juan,  where  they  preach  and  teach  many  more 
than  come  to  our  churches  in  the  city  itself.  These 
stations  are  at  Melilla,  Alto  del  Cabro,  Machuchal, 
Gandul,  Zebrurnco,  Cangrejo  Arriba,  Toa  Alto,  Naran- 
jito,  Corozal.  In  the  two  last  named,  we  have  organ- 
ized churches. 

Supplementary  to  this  evangelistic  work  our  Wo- 
man’s Board  conducts  a school  in  San  Juan,  principal- 
ly among  the  poor.  It  has  two  efficient  teachers.  Last 
and  by  no  means  least  is  the  San  Juan  Hospital,  with 
its  far-reaching  and  beneficent  work.  The  hospital 
has  been  built  on  the  cottage  system,  and  consists  now 
of  four  buildings,  dispensary,  administration  building, 
the  wards,  and  Training  Home  for  Nurses. 

There  are  two  resident  physicians  in  charge  of  the 
hospital.  The  staff  of  the  training  school  consists  of 
a head  nurse  and  a number  of  native  assistants  who 
are  taking  the  regular  course  in  nursing. 

Isabela,  about  fifty  miles  west  of  San  Juan,  is  our 
next  station.  We  travel  by  train  to  Camuy, 
where  we  take  a carriage  for  the  remaining 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles.  We  have  a church  building 
here,  and  a well-organized  work.  Our  missionaries 
endeavor  to  be  most  thorough  in  indoctrinating  their 
converts,  and  every  effort  is  made  to  make  them 
thoroughly  intelligent  regarding  the  Protestant  faith. 
Besides  the  ordained  minister  at  Isabela  we  have  also 


9 


a native  Bible  reader  whose  chief  work  lies  in  house- 
to-house  visitation.  The  out-stations  are  Quebradillas, 
with  an  organized  church,  Jabos,  Guerrero,  and  La 
Marino. 

Aguadilla.  a drive  of  about  ten  miles  brings  us 
to  this  beautiful  town,  stretching  away  for  a mile  or 
more  along  the  sea  coast,  and  still  supplied  with  water 
by  the  same  fountain  from  which  Columbus  watered 
bis  ships.  Here  we  find  a beautiful  church  building, 
with  a fiourishing  church  of  nearly  four  hundred  mem- 
bers. This  church  was  on  the  honor  roll  of  the  Pres- 
byterian churches  in  the  United  States  for  the  num- 
ber of  members  added  during  the  year. 

The  missionary  and  his  native  helpers  preach  from 
time  to  time  in  many  out-stations : Aguada,  La  Carcel, 
Espinal,  Palmas,  Victoria,  Voladora,  Guayobo,  Piedra 
Blanca,  Corrales,  Moca  and  Malesa  Alta.  We  have 
organized  churches  in  the  last  two  towns,  with  a good 
chapel  building  in  Malesa  Alta. 

Aguadilla  is  also  headquarters  for  a medical  work 
of  great  usefulness.  We  have  a dispensary  in  a rented 
building  in  the  town,  and  the  physician  visits  the 
out-stations  on  stated  days,  giving  medical  aid  to 
many  who  receive  no  other  care.  Our  school  is  a flour- 
ishing one,  with  three  teachers  in  charge.  The  classes 
are  full  and  as  far  as  possible  the  school  is  graded. 

San  Sebastian  is  reached  by  going  back  into  the 
mountains  for  sixteen  miles.  Here  a church  is  in  the 
process  of  building.  Our  missionary,  like  all  the 
others  on  the  island,  goes  on  horseback  to  the  nearby 
towns.  His  out-stations  are  Las  Marias,  where  we 
have  also  a Bible  reader,  Hoya  Mala,  Goacio,  with  a 
chapel  building,  and — 

Lares,  high  up  in  the  mountains.  Here  we  have  an 
10 


organized  church  in  a rented  building  and  a school 
conducted  by  two  teachers.  Part  way  by  carriage 
and  part  by  train  we  come  to 

Anasco,  with  its  organized  church,  held  in  a rented 
building.  The  school  has  two  teachers. 

Mayaguez,  we  reach  by  train.  It  is  an  at- 
tractive town  of  about  twenty  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, with  the  sea  at  its  feet  and  the  mountains 
rising  beautifully  green  behind  it.  It  was  here  that 
the  first  missionary  of  our  Board  was  sent  in  June, 
1899,  and  time  has  strengthened  the  work,  which  is 
now  large  and  well  established.  Our  church  is  in 
a beautiful  building,  and  all  its  services  are  well  at- 
tended. There  is  also  a dispensary,  and  the  resi- 
dent physician  cares  for  the  poor  not  only  of  Maya- 
guez, but  of  the  neighboring  towns  as  well.  He  and 
the  missionary,  with  the  native  helpers,  are  kept  busy 
with  the  many  out-stations,  most  of  which  must  be 
visited  on  horseback.  They  are  Playa  North,  Playa 
Central,  where  we  have  a chapel,  Mayaguez  East 
(all  in  the  city)  ; Balboa,  Santo  Domingo,  La  Cuesta, 
Guanajibo,  Hormigueros,  Maricao,  Salispuedes,  Al- 
garrobo.  Two  of  the  native  helpers  here  are  con- 
verted priests,  men  of  fine  education,  who  are  doing  a 
great  work  amongst  their  people.  Our  schools  are 
full,  the  one  at  the  Playa — down  by  the  shipping 
quarter — is  among  the  poorer  classes,  whilst  the 
school  in  the  centre  of  the  town  draws  its  pupils 
rather  from  the  well-to-do  classes.  It  is  called  the 
Collegio  Americano.  Boys  are  admitted  to  the 
lower  grades  until  they  are  ten  years  of  age. 
It  is  not  usual  in  those  southern  countries  to 
have  co-education,  and  it  has  been  found  best  to  con- 
form to  the  Spanish  custom.  Girls  are  given  a good 


11 


education  and  the  graduates  are  taken  as  far  as  the 
first  high  school  grade. 

We  have  six  teachers  in  this  school.  One  of  them, 
a native  Porto  Rican,  gives  instruction  in  the  Spanish 
classics.  As  in  all  our  schools,  the  Bible  is  in  daily 
use. 

From  Mayaguez  we  travel  by  train  to 

San  German,  where  we  have  an  organized  church 
for  which  a building  is  being  erected.  The  missionary 
and  his  native  helpers  serve  organized  churches  in  the 
following  neighboring  towns : Sabana  Grande,  La 
Pica,  Cabo  Rojo  and  Lajas,  besides  preaching  at 
Santa  Rosa  and  Ancones. 

We  have  now  gone  the  rounds  of  our  work  in  Porto 
Rico.  It  will  be  seen  that,  aside  from  work  in  the 
capital  all  our  stations  are  in  the  western  part  of  the 
island.  This  is  the  result  of  the  comity  agreement 
between  the  different  denominations  working  in  the 
island  at  the  close  of  the  war.  It  was  agreed  by  the 
secretaries  of  the  various  Boards  that  the  island 
should  be  districted.  The  portion  for  which  we  as  a 
Presbyterian  Church  are  responsible  is  the  western 
coast.  It  will  be  helpful  and  interesting  to 
look  briefiy  at  the  good  work  now  being  done  by  the 
other  denominations. 

The  Baptists,  working  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Military  Road,  from  San  Juan  to  Ponce,  have  thirty- 
five  stations,  four  men  and  six  women  missionaries ; 
twenty-one  organized  churches  with  fifteen  hundred 
members,  and  one  school. 

The  Congregatioiialists,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
island,  have  twenty-seven  stations  with  eleven  mission- 
aries, including  teachers ; seven  native  helpers,  five 
organized  churches,  five  hundred  and  fifty  members, 
and  one  day  school. 


12 


The  Methodist  Church,  working  largely  to  the  west 
of  the  Military  Road,  has  ninety-one  stations  with 
twelve  missionaries,  and  eighteen  native  helpers. 
They  have  seventeen  organized  churches  with  twenty- 
five  hundred  members. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  has  ten  stations, 
four  clergymen  and  five  women  missionaries;  three 
organized  churches  with  nearly  five  hundred  members, 
and  three  day  schools. 

The  United  Brethren  have  a work  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  island.  They  have  ten  organized  churches 
and  four  missionaries  with  three  hundred  and  fifty 
members. 

It  is  the  hope  of  several  of  these  denominations 
soon  to  found  a Union  Bible  Training  School,  where 
the  Bible  and  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  evangelical 
truth  shall  be  taught,  together  with  methods  of  church 
work.  The  faculty  shall  consist  of  one  member  of 
each  of  the  co-operating  denominations.  This  will 
declare  to  the  Porto  Ricans  the  essential  unity  of 
Protestantism. 


13 


CUBA 

Much  of  the  early  history  of  Porto  Rico  is  dupli- 
cated in  Cuba.  It  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in 
1492.  He  named  it  Juana,  in  honor  of  Prince  Juan, 
son  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  After  the  death 
of  Ferdinand  the  name  was  changed  to  Fernandina. 
Later  it  was  called  Santiago,  and  again  Ave  Maria. 
Cuba  is  said  to  be  the  name  given  to  it  by  its  native 
inhabitants.  Columbus  visited  the  island  on  two 
later  trips,  in  1494  and  1502.  In  1508,  it  was  circum- 
navigated and  proved  to  be  an  island,  and  in  1511 
Diego  Columbus,  the  son  of  the  discoverer,  fitted  out 
an  expedition  for  its  colonization.  In  1514  Santiago 
and  Trinidad  were  settled.  Havana  was  founded  in 
1519. 

At  the  time  of  its  discovery  Cuba  is  supposed  to 
have  had  a population  of  about  three  hundred  thou- 
sand. At  the  end  of  the  century  few  of  these  sur- 
vived. The  same  severe  and  bloody  tactics  which  de- 
populated Porto  Rico  were  employed  in  Cuba,  and 
with  the  same  results.  After  1580  negro  slaves  were 
imported  in  large  numbers  to  work  in  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco  and  sugar,  both  of  which  industries  became 
active  at  that  time.  The  early  history  of  Cuba  was 
not  peaceful.  The  French,  English  and  Dutch  all 
attacked  its  shores.  In  1762,  after  an  invasion  by  the 
British,  about  one-fourth  of  the  island  was  sur- 
rendered to  the  English,  but  it  was  restored  to  Spain 
by  treaty  a few  months  later.  After  this  time  Cuba 
entered  upon  a period  of  prosperity  which  continued 
for  many  years.  In  1825  King  Ferdinand  issued  a 
decree  which  gave  the  captain-generals  almost  abso- 
lute authority  over  the  island.  These  officers  were  not 
natives  of  Cuba,  and  many  of  them  used  the  office 


14 


solely  as  a means  of  acquiring  a fortune.  The  people 
of  Cuba  were  excluded  from  ofiSce,  heavily  taxed  to 
support  a standing  army,  and  deprived  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty. 

As  a result  the  native  population  was  filled  with  a 
bitter  hatred  of  the  Spanish  officers.  In  1868,  after 
a series  of  insurrections,  a rebellion  broke  out  which 
lasted  for  ten  years.  Spain  sent  more  than  150,000 
soldiers  to  quell  this  revolt,  but  in  the  end  was  obliged 
to  offer  favorable  terms  to  the  insurrectionists.  The 
promised  reforms,  however,  were  not  realized;  taxa- 
ation  continued  as  heavy,  officials  were  as  corrupt  and 
restrictions  on  commerce  were  as  severe  as  before 
the  rebellion,  and  the  natural  result  was  a fresh  out- 
break of  hostilities.  This  occurred  in  February,  1895. 
For  three  years  Spain  sought  in  vain  to  suppress  the 
trouble,  sending  200,000  men  to  the  island,  and  using 
measures  whose  barbarity  filled  the  world  with  horror. 
Under  Captain-General  Weyler  the  country  people 
were  driven  from  their  homes,  their  houses  and  crops 
destroyed,  and  it  is  estimated  that  more  than  200,000 
of  them  died  of  disease  and  starvation. 

President  Palma  said  of  that  time,  “Only  in  the 
United  States  was  there  sympathy  for  the  oppressed 
and  the  outraged.’’  Money  and  provisions  were  sent 
to  feed  the  starving,  and  a strong  sentiment  in  favor 
of  warlike  aid  arose.  This  sentiment  crystallized 
when  the  battle-ship  Maine  was  blown  up  in  the  Ha- 
vana harbor,  in  February,  1898,  and  on  April  21st 
war  was  declared  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain. 

Within  four  months  war  was  at  an  end  and  Cuba 
was  free.  By  the  terms  of  the  peace  protocol,  Spain 
agreed  to  remove  her  forces  from  Cuba,  and  this  was 
done  on  the  first  of  January,  1899.  On  that  day  the 


15 


United  States  entered  into  a temporary  military  occu- 
pation of  the  island  until  a stable  government  should 
be  established  by  the  Cubans.  This  was  accomplished 
in  1902,  when  a republic  was  constituted  and  Palma 
was  inaugurated  as  president. 

PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS. 

Cuba  is  the  most  western  and  the  largest  of  the 
Great  Antilles.  Because  of  its  beauty  and  fertility, 
Columbus  first  gave  it  the  title  of  the  Pearl  of  the 
Antilles.  “It  has  but  a small  proportion  of  untillable 
declivities  and  rocky  areas,  such  as  are  found  in  New 
England;  no  barren  fields  of  volcanic  lava,  such  as 
occur  in  the  Central  American  lands ; no  arid  areas 
like  those  which  make  up  so  large  a proportion  of 
Mexico  and  the  western  half  of  the  United  States ; 
no  stretches  of  sterile,  sandy  lands,  like  those  of 
Florida  and  other  coastal  Southern  States.  Its  pro- 
portion of  swamp  lands  is  less  than  that  of  the 
average  American  seaboard  State.  The  whole  island 
is  covered  with  rich  soils — ^^fertile  calcareous  loams — 
which  under  constant  humidity  yield  in  abundance 
every  form  of  useful  vegetation  of  the  tropical  and 
temperate  climes.” 

Its  area,  including  the  adjacent  islands,  is  about 
45,000  square  miles,  or  slightly  less  than  that  of  New 
York  State.  It  is  nearly  seven  times  as  long  as  Long 
Island,  and  stretches  between  the  longitudes  of  New 
York  and  Cincinnati,  about  720  miles.  It  is  less  than 
one  hundred  miles  wide.  Its  sea-coast  is  very  ex- 
tensive. With  all  its  indentations  and  including  its 
bordering  islets — about  thirteen  hundred  in  number — 
it  is  over  6,800  miles.  There  are  fifty-four  ports,  only 
fifteen  of  which  have  heretofore  been  open  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  world.  The  light-houses  along  the  coast 


16 


are  very  few,  and  many  of  the  harbors  greatly  need 
improving. 

Cuba  has  a backbone  of  highlands,  which  in  the 
province  of  Santiago  becomes  a mountain  range  of 
bold  proportions,  culminating  in  the  Pico  del  Tur- 
quino,  which  rises  very  abruptly  from  the  sea  to  a 
height  of  about  8,500  feet.  Cuba  is  famous  for  its 
beautiful  and  fertile  valleys,  many  of  which  are  wide 
plains  watered  by  rivers  and  streams  on  their  way  to 
the  sea.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  is  the  peculiar 
circular  basin  west  of  Matanzas,  called  the  valley  of 
the  Yumuri.  “This  comparatively  level  depression  is 
some  five  or  six  miles  in  diameter,  and  dotted  with 
pictui^esque  estates  and  long  avenues  of  royal  palms. 
Through  its  center  winds  the  beautiful  Yumuri  River, 
which  finds  an  outlet  at  Matanzas  through  the  verti- 
cal walls  of  an  exquisite  canon.  It  is  enclosed  on  all 
sides  by  steeply  sloping  walls  rising  some  five  or  six 
hundred  feet  to  the  level  of  a plateau  out  of  which 
the  valley  has  been  cut.  It  has  been  truly  said  that 
it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  charm  of  this  ‘Happy 
Valley,'  so  rich  in  its  vegetation,  and  so  delightfully 
is  it  watered  by  the  river  Yumuri  and  tributary 
streams : so  delicious,  even  on  the  hottest  summer 
days  is  its  atmosphere,  tempered  by  the  Atlantic 
breezes.” 

There  are  many  streams  on  the  island,  two  hundred 
of  them  rising  to  the  dignity  of  being  called  rivers. 
The  largest  of  these  is  the  Cauto,  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  long.  One  peculiarity  of  the  water 
courses  is  that  many  of  the  streams  sink  into  the 
earth  and  follow  subterranean  passages,  sometimes 
never  reappearing.  The  caverns  of  the  country  are 
very  beautiful  in  snow-like  whiteness  and  delicacy  of 
the  stalactite  and  stalagmite  forms. 


17 


Much  of  the  island  of  Cuba  is  still  covered  with  an 
uncleared  forest  of  tropical  luxuriance.  Many  of  the 
finest  woods  of  commerce  are  to  be  found  there.  The 
palm,  with  over  thirty  species,  is  everywhere  present. 

RESOURCES. 

Three  hundred  years  of  cultivation  have  extermin- 
ated the  forests  from  the  valleys  of  the  center  and 
west  of  the  island,  and  vast  fields  of  sugar  have 
taken  their  place.  Many  of  the  estates  embrace  sev- 
eral thousand  acres,  and  the  superior  methods  of 
handling  cane  and  extracting  the  juice  have  made  the 
cultivation  of  cane-sugar  profitable  in  spite  of  the 
competition  of  beet-sugar,  which  has  so  impoverished 
many  of  the  other  islands  of  the  West  Indies.  Cuba 
produces  over  one  million  tons  of  cane-sugar — twice 
as  much  as  Java,  the  next  largest  cane-sugar  country 
of  the  world. 

Tobacco  is  secondary  to  sugar  as  to  the  area  under 
cultivation,  but  is  more  profitable  in  proportion  to  the 
acreage.  It  is  said  that  with  care  three  thousand 
dollars  worth  of  tobacco  may  be  raised  on  a single 
acre.  About  eighty  thousand  persons  are  on  an  aver* 
age  engaged  in  its  cultivation. 

Coffee  at  one  time  was  an  important  crop,  but  at 
present  it  is  nearly  all  consumed  locally.  Fruit  and 
nuts  have  been  profitable,  and  can  be  made  increasing- 
ly so.  Vegetables  for  the  northern  market  are  a source 
of  revenue.  Along  some  portions  of  the  coast  turtle 
and  sponge  fishing  are  active  industries.  Cattle- 
raising is  becoming  an  increasingly  profitable  indus- 
try owing  to  the  large  area  of  rich  pasture  lands. 
Iron  ore  has  been  so  far  the  chief  metallic  resource  of 
Cuba.  Asphaltum  is  found  in  a few  places,  there  is 


18 


also  some  copper  and  salt,  but  the  mineral  wealth 
of  the  island  is  not  great. 

The  means  of  communication  are  poor,  as  aside 
from  a few  main  highways  the  roads  are  in  a poor 
condition.  There  are  about  sixteen  hundred  miles  of 
railway.  The  principal  line  runs  from  Havana  to 
Santiago.  Some  of  the  lines  connect  with  private 
railways  built  by  the  planters  for  convenience  in 
moving  their  crops.  The  fact  that  most  of  the  large 
towns  of  Cuba  are  seaports,  taken  with  the  additional 
fact  of  the  narrowness  of  the  island  and  the  numerous 
good  harbors,  has  rendered  the  inhabitants  more  in- 
different to  the  means  of  travel  on  land.  Many  of  the 
ports  ;are  regularly  visited  by  American,  French,  and 
Spanish  lines  of  steamers. 

Cuba  is  rather  thinly  populated  considering  its 
great  fertility.  In  1894  the  estimated  population  was 
1,723,000.  During  the  troublous  times  of  the  insur- 
rection with  its  fatal  accompaniments  of  disease  and 
famine  there  was  a marked  decrease. 

THE  PEOPLEjAND  THE  COUNTRY. 

Of  the  Cuban  whites,  perhaps  one-fifth  are  Spanish. 
In  1841  it  is  said  that  fifty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  pop- 
ulation was  black,  while  in  1887  the  percentage  was 
but  thirty.  There  are  also  about  thirty  thousand 
coolies  who  have  been  gradually  imported,  principally 
from  China.  The  population  of  Cuba  was  greatly 
changed  at  the  time  of  the  insurrection.  The  rural 
population  of  the  four  western  provinces  was  largely 
obliterated,  and  the  Bishop  of  Havana  is  authority 
for  the  statement  that  more  than  four  hundred  thou- 
sand people  were  buried  in  consecrated  cemeteries. 

Seventy-five  years  ago,  Humboldt  placed  Havana 
with  Rio  Janiero  as  one  of  the  five  great  tropical 


19 


cities  of  the  world.  Havana  is  22  degrees  north,  Rio 
22  degrees  south  of  the  equator.  When  Humboldt 
wrote  Havana  had  a population  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand, while  that  of  Rio  was  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  thousand.  At  present  the  population  of  Rio  is 
about  six  hundred  thousand,  while  that  of  Havana  is 
but  two  hundred  thousand.  The  uncertain  govern- 
mental conditions  in  Cuba  have  doubtless  been  a large 
reason  for  the  retarded  growth  of  Havana. 

San  Cristobal  de  la  Habana,  to  give  the  full  Spanish 
name  to  this  picturesque  old  city,  is  beautifully  situ- 
ated on  one  of  the  finest  harbors  of  the  world.  Its 
entrance  is  guarded  by  several  forts,  famous  for  their 
antiquity.  The  building  material  of  Havana  is  a loose- 
textured  conglomerate  of  sea-shell,  of  a glaring  white 
color.  This  is  covered  with  stucco  and  often  brilliant- 
ly colored.  The  parks  and  promenades  of  the  city  are 
many  and  beautiful.  The  Prado  is  a magnificent 
avenue  of  unusual  width ; the  fashionable  Parque 
Central,  witn  its  wealth  of  trees  and  fiowers,  forms  an 
enlargement  of  this  avenue,  and  is  one  of  the  attrac- 
tive features  of  the  city.  Fronting  on  it  are  the  best 
hotels  and  theatres,  while  around  it  extend  open-air 
cafes,  brilliantly  lighted  at  night,  and  as  gay  as  those 
of  Paris. 

Havana  is  said  to  possess  17,259  houses.  Of  these 
15,494  are  but  one  story  high,  1,552  are  two  story 
buildings,  186  are  three  stories,  while  but  27  reach 
the  limit  of  four  stories.  The  small  houses  contain 
no  storerooms,  pantries  or  closets,  which  necessitates 
the  purchase  of  supplies  from  day  to  day. 

One-fifth  of  the  population  of  Havana  lives  within 
the  area  once  surrounded  by  the  now  demolished 
walls.  Some  of  the  old  streets  are  so  narrow  that 
signs  are  placed  on  their  corners  signifying  “up”  or 


20 


“down,”  to  indicate  that  drivers  must  pass  in  one  di- 
rection only.  Rents  all  over  the  city  are  very  high, 
and  Havana  is  a very  expensive  place  in  which  to  live. 

The  second  city  and  seaport  of  central  Cuba  is 
Matanzas,  about  sixty  miles  east  of  Havana ; its  pop- 
ulation is  about  fifty  thousand. 

Santiago,  in  the  eastern  province,  is  the  center  of 
the  mineral  region  of  Cuba.  It  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant places  on  the  island  from  a strategic  and  po- 
litical point  of  view.  Its  population  is  about  sixty 
thousand. 


MISSION  STATIONS. 

Although  Cuba  does  not  belong  to  us  in  any  political 
sense,  its  proximity  made  it  seem  wise  that  our  mis- 
sioh  work  there  should  be  under  the  management  of 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  just  as  the  remoteness 
of  the  Philippines  had  made  it  more  convenient  that 
its  mission  work  should  be  conducted  by  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions. 

The  progress  of  Protestant  missions  has  been 
marked;  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  turn 
eagerly  toward  the  simple  gospel.  Especially  in  the 
smaller  cities  is  it  true  that  they  welcome  the  Protest- 
ant missions,  and  that  every  place  opened  for  services 
is  filled  with  worshippers.  The  writer  of  a book  en- 
titled “To-morrow  in  Cuba,”  in  speaking  of  the  re- 
ligious situation  there,  says : “To  the  mass  of  the 
Cuban  people,  the  Church  as  it  remained  to  them  was 
hateful.  It  was  identified  with  all  that  was  bad  in 
the  buried  Spanish  domination.  If  not  hostile  they 
were  indifferent ....  The  extent  to  which  the  Cuban 
people  have  fallen  away  from  the  Church  is  recog- 
nized by  American  Catholics.  Whether  it  is  a per- 
manent alienation- must  be  determined  by  events 


21 


The  intellectual  life  of  the  island  has  been  variously 
described  a3  agnostic,  infidel,  and  free  thinking.  A 
majority  of  the  men  call  themselves  free-thinkers  to 
describe  their  mental  attitude  rather  toward  the 
Catholic  Church  than  to  religion.”  To  meet  these 
conditions  our  Protestant  missionaries  must  show 
great  tact  and  wisdom.  One  of  the  most  delicate 
questions  since  the  war  has  been  that  of  the  ceme- 
teries. Popular  resentment  was  strong  against  the 
Church  for  its  monopoly  of  the  burial  of  the  dead,  and 
the  utterance  of  a young  Cuban,  “Protestantism  can- 
not be  bad  because  they  baptize  you  free,  and  they 
bury  you  free,”  gives  insight  into  the  feelings  of  the 
Cubans  as  to  the  externals,  at  least,  of  our  faith. 

Havana  was  chosen  as  our  first  mission  field,  and 
in  October,  1901,  our  first  missionary  began  work.  In 
January,  1902,  the  first  Presbyterian  church  was  or- 
ganized, with  fifty  members.  After  worshipping  for 
some  years  in  a rented  building,  a plot  of  ground, 
centrally  located,  has  been  purchased,  and  good  build- 
ings are  in  process  of  erection.  These  will  provide  a 
church,  accommodations  for  a school,  and  a manse 
for  the  missionary. 

In  countries  like  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  where  the 
government  has  always  supported  the  Church,  the 
people  are  to  a certain  extent  unfavorably  impressed 
by  a religion  which  is  unable  to  put  up  a fine  church 
building.  They  argue  that  if  the  people  of  that  re- 
ligion do  not  care  enough  for  it  to  build  a suitable 
church,  the  religion  cannot  be  worth  much. 

Our  missionary  in  Havana  and  his  assistants 
preach  in  four  other  stations  in  the  city  besides  the 
out-station  Marinao.  The  Woman’s  Board  conducts  a 
school  in  Havana  with  two  teachers.  It  also  sup- 


32 


ports  a Bible  reader,  who  visits  in  the  homes  of  the 
pupils  and  of  the  church  attendants. 

Guines  was  the  second  station  occupied  by  our 
church,  in  January,  1902.  It  is  about  thirty-five  miles 
southeast  of  Havana;  the  Journey  by  rail  requires 
two  hours,  and  the  fare  is  more*  than  a dollar  and  a 
half.  It  is  a city  of  about  nine  thousand  people,  and 
is  situated  in  a beautiful  and  fertile  plain.  The  church 
here  is  a prosperous  one.  The  elders  are  all  Cubans 
who  have  been  brought  into  the  Protestant  faith  since 
our  work  was  founded  there.  Our  school  is  a flourish- 
ing one  with  three  teachers. 

Gamarra  and  San  Nicolas  are  the  out-stations:  at 
the  latter  place  we  have  also  a school  under  the  care 
of  three  teachers,  two  American  and  one  native. 
Tiiese  places  are  reached  by  horseback  from  Guines, 
for  in  Cuba,  as  in  Porto  Rico,  most  of  the  mission- 
aries’ Journeys  are  made  in  that  manner. 

A few  miles  beyond  San  Nicolas  we  have  two  or- 
ganized churches,  at  Nueva  Paz  and  Las  Vegas.  The 
missionary  and  his  wife  live  in  the  former  place.  We 
have  there  also  a school. 

Sancti  Spibitus  is  a long  railway  ride  of  two  hun- 
dred miles  east  from  Havana.  It  is  situated  about 
twenty-four  miles  from  the  coast,  and  in  the  province 
of  Santa  Clara ; a rich  agricultural  district.  It  has 
a population  of  about  twelve  thousand  people.  It 
boasts  the  oldest  Roman  Catholic  church  on  the  is- 
land, dating  back  to  1604.  In  May,  1902,  our  mission 
work  began  there,  and  for  several  years  it  has  been 
held  in  a building  which  was  formerly  a Jesuit  col- 
lege. This  building  has  recently  been  sold,  and  as 
there  is  none  other  which  is  suitable  for  the  church 
and  school,  the  Boards  are  compelled  to  build  one. 
Our  missionary  there  serves  also  four  out-stations. 


23 


The  school  is  one  of  the  largest  we  have  in  Cuba,  and 
is  conducted  by  two  American  and  two  native  teach- 
ers, Coming  back  to  Havana,  we  proceed  westward  on 
the  line  of  the  railway  and  find  the  station  of 

Candelaria.  In  addition  To  an  organized  church 
there  we  have  one  at  Guira  and  one  at  Bejucal,  be- 
sides stations  at  San  Cristobal,  Artemisa  and  Alqui- 
zar.  Two  missionaries  supply  this  group  of  stations. 
Work  has  also  been  begun  at  Bahia  Honda,  a fertile 
sugar  region  on  the  coast  west  of  Havana. 

Having  thus  gone  over  the  work  which  our  own 
Boards  are  doing,  we  will  look  briefly  at  the  work  of 
the  other  denominations. 

The  Congregationalists  have  seven  stations,  three 
American  missionaries,  three  native  helpers,  six  or- 
ganized churches  and  seven  hundred  church  members. 

The  Southern  Methodists  have  twenty-four  men  and 
women,  flfteen  native  helpers,  twenty-seven  organized 
churches,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  church  members.  They  have  also  three  schools 
with  an  approximate  attendance  of  seven  hundred. 

The  Baptists  have  forty-eight  stations,  nine  mis- 
sionaries, including  some  ladies ; ten  native  helpers, 
fourteen  organized  churches,  eleven  hundred  mem- 
bers, one  school  and  fifty  pupils. 

The  Episcopal  Church  has  eighteen  stations,  six 
missionaries,  fourteen  native  helpers,  four  organized 
churches,  four  hundred  and  flfty  members,  besides 
flve  schools  with  four  hundred  pupils. 

The  work  in  both  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  has  Just 
begun.  The  islands  wait.  There  is  great  need  for 
men  and  means.  There  is  no  work  which  brings  such 
large  returns  as  the  work  for  the  saving  of  men — 
physically,  mentally  and  spiritually.  There  is  no 
way  in  which  money  goes  so  far  as  when  spent  in  the 
uplifting  of  human  souls. 

No.  352.— 1st  Ed.— 4,  1906.  Price  five  cents  per  copy,  $4.50  per  100. 


THE  WILUETT  PRESS,  N.  Y. 


